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virusvirus (lat.); virus (fr.); Virus (ger.)

In early use more fully filterable virus, ultramicroscopic virus. An infectious, often pathogenic agent or biological entity which is typically smaller than a bacterium, which is able to function only within the living cells of a host animal, plant, or microorganism, and which consists of a nucleic acid molecule (either DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein coat, often with an outer lipid membrane. (OED 2008)